California Basketball Player Throws Punches at Official After Playoff Loss (video)

An odd incident occurred moments after the conclusion of an LA City Section boys basketball playoff game between Downtown Magnets and host Dorsey High Wednesday night.

After the buzzer sounded and Downtown Magnets' 59-54 victory was official, a Dorsey basketball player walked from his bench, across the court and approached an official. The player bumped into the official, then proceeded to talk to the official in what appears to be an intense manner, according to footage obtained from NFHS Network.

On a second bump, the official seems to flop to the ground, but the player doesn't stop. The player continues to yell at the official while he lies on the ground. A Dorsey teammate and other adults come to corral the upset player, but that's when it becomes worse. The upset Dorsey player breaks free from the grasp of helpers, runs at the official and starts swinging.

The Dorsey player takes three punches, but none of the attempts land. The official ducks the first punch before backpedaling to avoid the next two. The official does appear to throw one quick jab in self defense while backing up.

WHAT MAY HAVE CAUSED THIS?

With roughly four minutes to play and Dorsey leading by three, the Dorsey player was called for his fourth foul by the same official, according to Dorsey coach Dart Stamps. The Dorsey player, who is a senior starter on the Dons, was subbed out of the game. As the player was running to the bench, it appears he said something to the same official.

In the video, the official turns toward the player and the Dorsey bench (off camera) and issues a technical foul, which was the Dorsey player's fifth foul and disqualifying him for the rest of the game.

"He must've said something," Downtown Magnets coach JC Agustin said. "I was focusing on the game, of course, but he was definitely issued a technical foul. We clapped because that was two free throws and the possession. It was a huge momentum shift in the game."

Stamps doesn't condone the behavior of his player, but felt the official did not do his job properly.

"After the technical foul, the official told me he'd been jarring with the player all game," Stamps explained. "He never warned me. He never warned the player. He failed big time in that aspect."

"If the official would've said something earlier, I could've tried to correct it," Stamps added. "But it does not excuse my player's behavior."

Stamps believes the Dorsey player was experiencing a lot of heightened emotions for the first time, all at once.

"He's never gotten a technical foul before. He's never fouled out of a game before," Stamps said. "So, experiencing all that, plus knowing its the last game of your high school career. He was very clearly upset."

The LA City Section is aware of the incident and plans to investigate further.

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